In principle, for balancing the masses of a 4-stroke internal combustion engine, it is known from EP-A 227 277 to provide one or more linearly movable, spring-loaded balancing masses, which are shifted by balancing cams on the camshaft against the force of a spring.
It has now been ascertained that, in the case of an 8-cylinder, 4-stroke internal combustion engine with two rows of cylinders arranged in V-shaped fashion, vibrations stimulated by the free inertial forces and moments of the engine transmission block and the vibrations occurring essentially in all orders, are most pronounced in the third order of the free inertial forces and moments of the valve operating mechanism. A varying transverse force and, in addition, moments about all axes occur. The moments and the temporal relationships of the transverse force and the moments depend on the direction of motion of the valves and the control times.